Accendo
by slowrabbits
Summary: A collection of Tahsami oneshots. Chapter 4: Green eyes flickered fearfully to the expertly wielded katana before returning to her would be killer's eyes. "Will you kill me?" she asked, her voice small, but without a trace of fright.
1. Seeing Red

**Author's Note:** Welcome to my dumpsite of all Tahsami drabbles, oneshots, more-shots and dumb plot bunnies. Most of the chapters are not related, but some are. This will mostly contain sad scenarios, since Tahsami gives me mostly misery because Tahsami aint canon and would probably never be. SOBS.

I hope you have fun and stay around. Be so kind and drop a review to let me know how I'm doing, yeah?

**Warning: **A little bit OOC, some cussing, and reference to sex. In this story, Asami and Tahno are friends, although they have a bittersweet relationship. They've known each other since they were toddlers and have pretty much stuck together. So, you know, if you don't dig that kind of stuff, don't read any further. Welp~ It's a little out there, but hey, this is fanfiction.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Legend of Korra. The cover photo, entitled Fragile, is by the talented Jesterry of deviantart.

**Summary:** "This means nothing," Asami whispered in his ear and Tahno was fine with that, because this meant everything to him.

* * *

**A Drink Called Loneliness**

**by: slowrabbits**

The doors of the bar section of Kuang's Cuisine opened and a woman entered, dressed simply, but expensively. She stood by the doorway for a while, as sensual and romantic as the soft jazz that came from the musicians positioned by the farthest wall. With long legs eating up the distance, she strode purposefully to the bar backed against the left wall. She had a look to her, as if daring any man to resist her or daring them to approach. There was a collective intake of breath from the male patrons and staff. It was agreed all around that she was perhaps the most stunning woman to ever patronize the establishment.

Long ebony locks flowed wildly from her head; unbound so that it curled seductively around a striking face and spilled over deceptively frail shoulders. Eyes the color of polished emeralds glinted dangerously as they swept across the room. Generous lips painted a bold, bloody red -the same color as her talon-like nails- were worried by small, even teeth. When you got past the face, you would see that the body was equally as fantastic. A great bone structure laid foundation for a body firm and subtly muscled -just enough that she still retained her rather delicate stature. Her skin was naturally pale, glowing youthfully like moon light and was a delicious contrast again her choice of clothing. Her wine-colored dress clung to her body like a lover, showing off magnificent curves that needed neither augmenting nor reduction. The high -but tasteful; she was _always_tasteful- cut of the dress showcased to their full potential legs that looked miles long and ended in strappy black shoes with needle thin heels.

She sat on a high stool on the bar and almost immediately, a bartender materialized before her. "Give me some Shochu." she said. The man moved quickly to comply with her wish.

Asami Sato sighed wistfully as she waited for her drink. Being in Kuang's Cuisine never failed to put her in a conflicted mood. She did enjoy the classy atmosphere it offered, and that was a welcome change from the fast and very often rough offerings of Republic City. Here, time seemingly stood still, and Asami liked that; liked that some things were dependable, constant. The variety of men were usually not disappointing and there was always a steady slew of them willing to buy her a drink and help keep her mind off more pressing matters.

She wondered if it was appropriate that she was already thinking about other men, when she had just recently jumped off -or better yet, was bodily shoved off it, since she did have have no choice in the matter, really- the most serious relationship she'd had since... well, ever.

In an unlady-like fashion, she scoffed. So much for not brooding tonight.

On the other hand, Kuang's Cuisine was also a very bitter reminder of a certain someone who she would rather never have met. This had been their most frequent haunt, from the first time she ran him over with her Moped and decided that she wanted him to the last time he had time to take her out on a date. They would come here together and he would be the suave boyfriend and she would be the doting girlfriend and everyone would coo at how _perfect _they looked together, and how romantic. The princess and the pauper.

God, she already missed him. No one quite bought excitement into her life like Mako did. Her adventurous side fed off his to-hell-with-it attitude and her romantic heart craved the love of a dangerous man such as he. He had her wrapped around his finger, but even from the start, it was clear that he didn't want her -or need her- desperately like all the other men did, and that never failed to challenge her and break her spirit at the same time.

When the tender slid over her drink, she managed a small smile for him. Her sensitive hearing picked up his heart rate rising and she couldn't decide whether she was flattered or disgusted. He excused himself, but not before a quick and painfully obvious look down her dress. Asami rolled her eyes and gingerly took a sip from her drink. It was hard to swallow, just like the acrid taste jealousy left in her mouth.

Really, being mad and jealous and this huge mass of ugly emotions was _so _not her style. Asami Sato was not a brooder. She was perfect, beautiful, understanding and _nice._ She didn't jump to conclusions or pass judgement. She didn't hate on Avatars who she had trusted inexplicably for stealing her boyfriend, nor did she resent said boyfriend for being such a huge jerkface. Neither Korra nor Mako deserved her anger. Korra was such a sweet girl who was brave and funny and kind and Mako was courageous and protective. So what if Korra had kissed him, and Mako had kissed her back? So what if she'd been the ohsoperfect girlfriend to Mako -faithful and loving- and he betrayed her, even after everything she's done and given up for him? So what if-

Asami shook her head at herself. Now was not the time for understanding or rational thinking. She'd just been so rudely betrayed and she _deserved _to be mad for once in her life, dammit. Tomorrow would come soon enough and until then, she was going to be pissed (as was her right) and drunk and selfish.

Already outrageously lonely and bored, she swiveled her seat around so she could watch the interesting crowd like she always did with Mako

-and was well and truly shocked when she came face to face with the charismatic Tahno himself.

It had been six weeks since she last laid eyes on Tahno during his last probending match and she wondered how it was possible that he looked even better than the he did during their final meeting. He looked _damn_ fine. The avaricious looks women threw him were also testimony to that. His hair was carelessly styled to render him that sex god flair he had always possessed. Smoldering brown eyes stared back into hers, hinting at what Asami assumed was amusement at her deer caught in headlights look. His strong jaw was cast with a bit of five-o'clock shadow, making him look devastatingly roguish. He was dressed in a well-cut suit that made him look more sophisticated than Asami knew he was. Underneath the clothes, Asami knew that his body was perfect and the thought of it inspired a hot ball of lust rolling slyly through her stomach. Face of an angel and body of the devil, indeed.

In what she hoped was an indifferent move, Asami turned back to her drink, picked it up, swilled it around in the glass. "Every god damn time I turn around," she said with more than a little distaste, shaking her head slightly. She hated how Tahno was always the one who could bring out the ugly side of her: the cynical, potty-mouth who was fed up with the tedious half life of the rich and famous.

Tahno took the seat next to her and waited for her eyes to return to his. "I'll have whatever she's having." he said shortly to the bartender, never taking his eyes off the woman before him. "That greeting doesn't sound particularly happy, Sato." he started conversationally as he accepted the drink from the server.

Asami snorted with indignity. "The circumstance doesn't call for happy greetings, Tahno." she said haughtily as she tossed her glossy curls over her shoulder. "And besides, when am I ever happy to see _you?_"

She heard him laugh heartily and she wanted to grind his face into gravel for it. "That's not what you said that one night," he said lightly, but it fell like a threat to Asami's ears. She normally enjoyed their mean banter, but tonight, she just didn't have it in herself to bear with Tahno's mind games.

Asami hummed deep in her throat and feigned apathy, but she didn't think it was effective since she felt a traitorous blush crawl up her cheeks. Tahno always made her lose her cool, damn him, like now when he pinned her with that unnerving, oozing-with-sex stare of his. He had always been heart-breakingly beautiful and he never failed to play that to his advantage, if the hoards of fangirls and golddiggers that unfailingly threw themselves upon him was any indication. But Asami refused to soften under his gaze which seemed to hold appraisal, warmth and lust. She'd been the receiving end of it for so long, and she knew better than to believe that those hot looks meant anything.

They sat together for a while; falling into the comfortable silence they were so used to sharing. If Asami tried hard enough, she could imagine that this was like the old days: hiding out in her room while her father held those exclusive parties to which Tahno and his family would be invited to, passing back and forth a bottle of her father's expensive scotch or even dancing when their fancy struck it. Asami shook her head and derailed her train of thought. Things between them were different now. They had to be.

They didn't know how out-worldly they looked: sitting still, surrounded by people who moved so fast, they blurred around the couple so alike inside. Heavy, corporeal music and bright lights pulsed around them but they seemed unaffected, as if they were too absorbed by eachother. People looked but didn't dare approach, too intimidated by the perfection of the pair.

Asami suddenly caught sight of her reflection on the mirror plastered against the wall. She grimaced upon seeing the bold red lipstick painted on her lips. She reminded herself that she only wore red lipstick because Mako liked it, and that she no longer had reason to try to please Mako, so she took a napkin from the holder in front of her and wiped the paint away. Her action lead to her companion's puzzlement, but she disregarded his should-I-be-concerned look. She had a moment to be thankful that she still had enough class to use a napkin instead of the back of her hand. Briefly, she glanced at the bloody smear on the napkin before throwing it somewhere she didn't have to look at it.

She decided that she hated red from now on.

With a sigh, Asami resigned herself to the fact that she could never successfully give Tahno the cold shoulder treatment. He could always see right through her and would never leave her alone if he sensed she was even a little less than okay. There was too much friendship and history between them for that. "What are you doing here, Tahno?" she asked in a tired voice.

He quirked a brow. Asami didn't know whether from her tone or the question. "Enjoying the ambiance, of course." he said, nodding to a pair of girls (who looked young enough to still be in training bras, mind you) making a scene over an older guy. Asami crinckled her nose, mildly horrified at their behavior.

"Huh. And you couldn't enjoy the ambiance some other day when I'm not here?" she questioned evenly.

"Why, Sato, it almost seems as if you don't want me here." he said, pulling a mock-hurt pout that Asami refused to admit made him look cute.

Viridian eyes rolled skyward. "So you can get a hint."

"Look who's getting cute. Tell me why you're so cross with me."

Asami scoffed before bringing her drink back to her lips. _Cross._ What a pansy word. "Leave me alone," she bit out in the voice of a grown woman but the tone of a spoiled brat. This seemed to make Tahno laugh.

"And you used to call _me_ angsty." he regarded jovially. "All right then. I suppose I already know why you're mad and that you don't want to talk about it." A mischievous grin lit up his features at Asami's indignant _Good._ "As to why I'm here, I've been looking for you. I heard from a little bird," he continued grandly as he inspected his nails, "that you and that pretty, emo boy had a fight, and I thought, seeing as how we're such good chums, that you'd appreciate my so in demand company."

"Mako is not emo." Asami cried defensively before she could stop herself. She rolled her eyes again, more irritated at herself than at her friend.

The Sato heiress sighed long and sad, piquing the interest of the man beside her. Sensing this coaxed another sigh out of Asami. "I broke up with Mako," she cleared her aching throat and tried to speak past the lump forming in it. "Because his affections have apparently transferred onto Korra." It hurt, saying it out loud, because it was suddenly _real. _It hurt, to be discarded and traded in for a better model. It hurt, knowing that you weren't enough to be someone's happiness. It hurt, comprehending that you were only being kept out of a screwed sense of obligation and it was damn insulting, too.

There was a slow burning in the spot where Asami pressumed her heart was (assuming it hadn't shrivelled up and fallen off yet) and she recognized it as sadness.

The days leading up to this night had been miserable for Asami. Seeing Mako look at Korra (with _The Look _that he had bestowed upon her not so long ago) when he thought his girlfriend wasn't looking, and the other little things that clued Asami in on the impending doom of their relationship was quite frakly a stab in the heart. Oh, how Asami had wanted to fight to keep him. But the martyr in her just couldn't stand the thought of coming between two people -dare she say it?- _destined _to be together. So she allowed the first man she'd ever loved to slip away from her grasp and painfully take a chunk of her heart with him.

Sometimes she just despised being so nice.

The only outward sign that showed that Tahno heard her was when one of his shapely brows shot up. "Huh." he murmurred.

This persuaded a short, humorless laugh out of Asami. "How articulate of you."

Shrugging, the man took a gulp of his drink. "Well, I for one, am happy for you. Want to get out of here, come to my place and celebrate your freedom from the opressing chains of commitment?" he leered jokingly, wagging his eyebrows at her.

Asami quirked a brow at his statement, ignored his proposition. "I don't think you understand. I just said that my boyfriend doesn't love me anymore."

"Kinda makes you wonder if he ever had, huh princess?" Tahno replied with a cocky grin. In all truth, Tahno had never liked Mako. God, that annoying little prick sure knew how to get on his nerves. Tahno had tried to tell his oldest friend that the street rat was bad news, but Asami just chuckled and dismissed him. _Green doesn't become you, Tahno. _She'd once commented, and that was the last time Tahno made the mistake of voicing his opinions about Mako to the love struck Sato heiress.

_And look who's right, princess, _he wanted to sneer, but he didn't, because despite what most people think, Tahno wasn't a complete douchebag with less tact than a box of hair. And he (lovedlovedloved) cared for Asami! She was the only real friend he had, as opposed to the shallow friends he kept for his social status. Asami was your quintessential Mary Sue- the girl who was so devastatingly beautiful, painfully elegant, filthy rich and sweet to a fault but Tahno knew that she wasn't all bleeding heart; that Asami had her bad days, too, when she alowed herself to be _human_. Some days, she was bitter and lonesome,others she couldn't stand to be in the presence of people. Tahno _got_her, accepted her, and she did the same for him, contrary to what their interactions entailed.

His statement got its desired effect. Asami's face flushed with anger and embarassment. "You motherfucker." she hissed, teeth grin in frustration. "Get out of my god damn sight."

This only served to widen Tahno's smile. "Aah, aah, Sato. I don't think Hiroshi would take too well to knowing that his adored daughter is cussing like a sailor." he said, wagging a finger. "And besides, you're better off without that amateur firebender."

Asami lifted a hand and unsuccesfully tried to shove him off his seat. Tahno laughed. "I hate you, weasel." Asami snarled.

"I love you, too, princess." Tahno replied with a smirk.

Another silence washed over the pair wherein Asami downed two more glasses of alcohol and Tahno watched her, his concern masked by his delighted face. When the raven-haired girl lifted her fifth glass to her ohsotempting lips, Tahno snatched it away.

"Hey!" Asami cried.

"That's enough for you, Sweetheart." Tahno said, and to make his point, upended the glass and manfully swallowed the burning alcohol.

Asami sniffed, and even managed to look like the dignified lady she was. "Fine. I'm drunk out of my ass now, anyway." she retorted with a slur, words totally opposing her appearance.

"You were always were such a lightweight." Tahno regarded fondly. He hopped off the high stool he'd been sitting on and held out a hand for his long time friend. "Come now, I'll take you home." Without waiting for her permission, he dragged her out of the bar and headed to her house.

The walk to the Sato estate was short, but not uneventful. In her inebriated state, Asami babbled on about her plight. She was so sick of people, she said. Especially men. She'd all but given them the world and in the end, she was casted aside like a two-cent whore because what good was Asami Sato without her goddamn father, her goddamn money and her goddamn looks? No one ever approached her unless they wanted something from her. Then the intoxicated woman proceeded to swear off men, amusing her escort. "Don't look so down, princess. You still got me." Tahno had told her cheekily.

It was true: Asami had always had him, but he would never have her.

He realizes this, especially so when Asami drunkenly fisted a hand into his shirt, dragged him inside her house, up her bedroom, on her bed, over her body. She kissed him, and he kissed her back, both of them content with this substitute of love for just that night. Damn the consequences, or caution and self-preservation. "This means nothing," Asami whispered in his ear -her voice so deep and velvety that it made his eyes cross- as her form moved against his, and Tahno was fine with that, because this meant _everything _to him.

For so long, he'd stood in the sideines and watched Asami scour the whole of Republic City for the one man who would look past the big house, the big piles of money, the big garage of Satomobiles and the beautiful body that hid so much insecurities and loneliness. Tahno knew that he was pretty much an asshole and on his best days was a _tolerable _asshole, but he had (loved) cared genuinely for Asami since they were six. That had to count for something, right?

No. At least, not for the only one that mattered.

He would never have her.

As he gathers up his clothes and silently slink out of her house, Tahno thinks that he never really would.

**A/N:** Review, por favor? :D


	2. Tear

**Author's Note:** Chapter two~ You should definitely listen to What Hurts The Most by Rascal Flatts while reading this, because its what inspired this~ I apologize in advance because I WROTE MORE MISERABLE TAHSAMI. Um. This might get a bit confusing because of the narration. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Legend Of Korra.

* * *

**Tear**

By slowrabbits

i. _What hurts the most is being so close._

It is late when Tahno finds her.

He thinks that it's a painful kind of irony -one he cannot say he appreciated- that Asami Sato (oh so wealthy and lovely) would end up in an awfully depressing place like a bench (moist, cold and hard; Tahno is sure it is filthy, too) underneath the bridge that is home to the misfortunate vagrants of Republic City. He fails to understand why she allows herself to be soaked to the bone with the relentless rain that pelted the city. Now her starched, fashionable clothes were ruined and clinging tastelessly to her body. She is shivering, and Tahno ponders if she notices this, because there is a blank look on her face that begs the speculation whether her head is racing with so many conflicting thoughts and unanswerable questions, or if her mind is functioning at all. Her deceptively dainty hands clutch at her elbows as if it were the thin threads that tie her to sanity. Shame and grief bows her spine and it looks unusual on the lady who always stood so tall and proud amidst mean gossip and jealous whispers. She looks utterly broken and totally confused. Tahno has never seen a more pitiable creature.

What the ink-haired man does understand about this whole situation was her need to be alone. She got that here -the absolute privacy and quiet- because the shadier parts of town offered anonymity to its inhabitants who were too caught up in their own miserable lives to give notice to someone else. Yes, Tahno understands Asami perfectly, even though he doesn't know her anymore. There are times he himself craved solitude, because it lacked the demands of façades and manners which came with being in the company of people, even well-meaning ones.

And surely, she wouldn't be in the mood for company (especially his) after doing what she had just done.

After killing Hiroshi Sato. Her father, the Equalist, the traitor. _The liar._

(**_She had to, she had to, she had to._**)

He isn't sure of what to do for her, or if there is anything to do for her at all. He has never felt the need to impart comfort to others, even those of his acquaintance. He doesn't have the words, or the actions, or the presence to soothe. Did anyone, for a girl who just faced and ended her father in battle?

Although it hurts, Tahno turns his back to (**_the only woman he ever loved_**) her and walks away. He doesn't speak to her, or approach her. He can't. Not anymore. After what transpired between them, he doesn't allow himself to mingle with her anymore because there is no doubt in his mind that the sight of him would trigger so many bad memories of their time together. He doesn't want to break her ever again, especially now when she's hurting outrageously and so close to falling apart.

As he finds the rest of Asami's little search party, he shrugs off the memory of her, getting more and more uneasy the longer he thinks about her eyes. Forest green, void of life and dead, dead, _dead._ He tells the Avatar of the Sato heiress's location and washes his hands of the evening.

ii. _Having so much to say, and watching you walk away._

It is a presumably normal Wednesday morning when Tahno chances upon Asami Sato the next time. Like it always did, his (**_cold, black, _dead**) heart thumps madly against his ribs, almost as if it was threatening to burts from his chest cavity.

He thinks that she looks magnificent. No surprise there. She always does. He can't see her face, which is covered by the shade of her parasol, but he knows she is still lovely -perhaps even more so- since they last met. Dressed in her usual attire of her coat, skirt and boots, she embodies the classic lady of noble birth -untouchable, desirable and elegant- but Tahno knows that she is also quite the badass.

She did have one accessory that ticks Tahno off.

_Mako_. The name sounds like a sneer, even in Tahno's mind. What a loser. Mako (**_will never love her like I did_**) looks pompous and broody as ever, even when (**_the love of his life_**) Asami hangs on his arm. Spirit's sake, did the kid even possess the ability to _look _happy? Why, if Tahno could touch Asami again, he would beam like the moron he was for letting her go in the first place.

(**_But he can't have her ever again because he was stupid and an asshole and Asami was so so so broken._**)

Seeing her is always painful. It brings back too much of the darkness Tahno desperately tried to dispel; too much of the memories he yearned to forget. With her comes visions of what had been and could never be and that was what hurts the most.

(**_He saw her lovely face red from shortness of breath, tears streaking her carefully applied makeup and her hair roused by restless hands. Fingers gripped his shirt in desperation and Tahno shrugged her off, disgusted. Never mind that she'd been pleading with him for an hour, or that she was scared and confused. He didn't feel anything but pure, unadulterated hate for her._**

**_"Get rid of it, and get out of my sight." he said in a voice that left no room for arguements. He didn't wait to see if his command had been obeyed, instead turning swiftly on his heel and stomping out of the room._**)

The ink-haired man sighs a long suffering sigh as he faces away from the scene, ignoring the terrible clenching in his chest.

"Tahno?" comes a soft voice from behind him.

He thinks: _Fuck._

He turns back to face the woman he'd been (**_loving still, pining for_**) studying for the past ten minutes. Good Agni, she was even more breath-taking up close. A myriad of emotion clouds her eyes: sadness, uncertainty and something else Tahno fails to understand. There is rigidity in her posture from nervousness and Tahno resents himself even more, knowing that his presence was causing such agitation in her. Emerald orbs flicker from his face, to Mako's, then back to his before she speaks. "Hi. How are you?" she asks quietly.

Tahno is certainly surprised that she is speaking to him with such civility and sincerity. The last time they exchanged words were through shouts and tears. Tahno dismisses the memories threatening to weaken him as he replies in that usual, cocky tone of his that never gave anything away, "I am well, Miss Sato."

He hates this politeness between them.

And if the thinning of her lips is any indication, Asami despises it, too. She nods and tells him that she must be off. Without waiting for his reply, Asami walked back to where her fire bending boyfriend stood, glaring daggers at Tahno. Briefly, Tahno wonders if Asami had told Mako about the dysfunction that was him and her. But maybe she didn't need to, since their interactions spoke volumes. _Look at us! We used to be a couple, but we were so screwed up that we spent two years of our lives in a sham of a relationship wherein we strove to make one another as miserable as possible._

Mako looks as if he wants to punch the soul out of Tahno and Tahno treats him to a challenging stare. (**_Go for it. I would want to punch me, too._**) But Asami tugs on Mako's arm and before Tahno knows it, they are gone and he is left with the feeling of longing and self-hate that will forever haunt him.

iii._Never knowing what could have been._

It is during the Avatar's birthday party that Tahno's world crumbles even more.

He should have paid attention to the ominous nagging at the back of his mind about the impending doom the night bought on. But no, he put on a good suit and mindlessly made his way to Korra's party in the name of friendship. It was strange how he and the impulsive Avatar ended up being friends. Way back when, he was a huge ass to her, yet, here he was now, wishing her a happy birthday and drinking her alcohol.

He instinctively makes his way to the balcony because he was getting many death glares and nasty comments. They don't really offend him so much that they irritated him. After all he'd been through, very little (yet, so much) affect him now.

He didn't expect to see Asami there, leaning out on the intricate iron railing which makes Tahno wonder if she is getting ready to pummel to the ground. He wonders why she isn't inside, charming the other guests with her intelligent conversation or dazzling beauty. He wonders, too, why she isn't hanging on that damn firebender's arm. It is rare for Asami to be alone. Growning up without a mother and a father too busy to fuss over her, Asami made up for the early years of loneliness by constantly surrounding herself with people. Not necessarily ones she was close to, but there you go. Not to say that she was greedy, or clingy. Being around people just made her happy.

Tahno clears his throat and she whirls around, blushes -maybe from getting caught looking like she was about to jump off the terrace.

"May I stay here?" he asks, and gets a short nod in reply.

He takes a seat on one of the rattan chairs near the ledge, careful not to look at his companion. Tahno had never been a wishful thinker, but he hopes that for even just this night, he and she can co-exist in one place without the damnable politeness, or the sickening melancholy. But of course, he is wishing for the impossible.

He already feels so incredibly depressed.

He can feel her eyes stare holes into his face which unnerves him. How could she stand the look of him? How is she not running back inside, seeking protection from the monster who ruined her in so many ways?

Calmly, he draws out from the inside of his coat a metal cigarette case. He takes one slim stick and puts in his mouth. "Mind?" he drawls out, but it wasn't really a question. He lifts his lighter to the cigarette, sucks, blows.

Asami waves away the cloud of smoke. "I didn't know you smoked." she remarked.

Tahno glances at her. She was still so achingly beautiful. "Does it bother you?" he asks, but he doesn't think he'll stop if it does.

Asami frowns at his challenging tone. "You'll kill yourself with those." she returned, gesturing at the glass of scotch and the cigarette.

Tahno barks out a short, humorless laugh. She almost sounded concerned, which was funny. What did she care if he died? "Is that right? Well then, they're not killing me fast enough, aren't they?"

She is quiet for a moment. Tahno looks up to see if she left, but she is still there, leaning lightly against the railing, watching the orange tip of his cigarette glow as if it was the most interesting thing ever. In the day, she is majestic, but under the moonlight she is a vision; almost too good to be true. Her dress is a waterfall of liquid silver that shimmers down her glorious body and clings to all the right places. Tahno didn't know that the Sato heiress wore anything but red nowadays, as a homage to her firebending lover. Her hair flows around her and Tahno gets a quick flash of how all those pitch black locks would surround them like an angry raven tempest when she throws her head back in the midst of passion.

The former water-bender shakes his head. He has no right to those memories anymore.

There is still a stubborn line between Asami's brows when he returns his gaze to her face. She looks hesitant to say something, but she opens her mouth anyway and lets the words out. "Do you think I want you to die?"

"Don't you?" Tahno quips smartly.

The heiress is quiet again, but then she speaks in a voice smaller than the last one, "No." she says firmly. "I don't want you to die. I've had enough death in my life."

Unconsciously, Tahno flinches. He deserved to have that tossed in his face, but it wasn't any easier to endure. Tahno knew that Asami wasn't talking of her mother killed by firebenders, or her father perished by her own hand, but the premature life they had made together, destroyed together once upon a time. The barbs in his heart dig deeper, and he thinks that maybe _he_ should just jump off that ledge and end his misery.

Her viridian eyes are sad and hopeless again. Funny how she is radiating remorse for him, even after all he'd put her through. "I apologize. I shouldn't have said that." she tells him, sounding genuinely abashed.

She straightens from her position by the railing, all moonbeams and ebony locks. Her heels clack against the marble floor of the balcony, the sounds echoing through Tahno's empty heart. She stops by the doors, not bothering to face him when she says, "I thought you should know: Mako and I are getting married." a pause, "I hope you can make it. Because even with how our relationship ended, you used to be someone important to me." with that, Asami left.

Tahno spends the rest of the night in the quiet terrace, sipping alcohol as bitter as he. His only company is the songs of the cicadas and the lingering scent of her. Why did she have to say these things to him, these words that made those damnable seeds of hope blossom in his chest? Why couldn't she just hate him, and make things easier for both of them? He didn't like these in-between emotions.

Later that month, Tahno gets an expensive looking envelope bearing what he was sure would be the invitation to her wedding.

He chucks it into the fire without bothering to open it.

iv. _And not seeing that loving you is what I was trying to do._

Four months pass after he received the wedding invitation.

Tahno likes to think that he has been productive, considering his circumstances, and he is proud of himself because he hasn't spent the last four months drinking his life away, or moping around in his house. No, he punishes his body back into shape, gets a job in his father's company and visits his mother daily.

He is fit, his hair gets its shine back and there are no more bags under his eyes. He still felt like crap, but at least he didn't look like it, too.

It is rare for the darkness to claim him these days, and Tahno is relieved. His dreams are no longer invaded by visions of Asami on some metal slab, crying out in pain that the midwife inflicts on her, his waking thoughts are most often than naught quiet, undisturbed by hallucinations of a child with dark, purple hair and bright, emerald eyes. His mother says he is a new man now.

But this new man still dreads the upcoming wedding.

He tells this to the Avatar, who has broken down his door on the day of Asami and Mako's nuptials.

Korra, in her silk navy dress is stunning. Her hair is down and her lips are painted, but her beauty doesn't distract him from the anger visible on her face. Tahno fears she might start spewing fire if she doesn't calm down.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" she yells.

"I see no need for me to be there." Tahno replies in a detatched voice.

Korra shakes her head. "Whatever, you can't expect me to suffer there alone."

Tahno is reminded that Korra was in love with the groom, much like Tahno was in love with the bride. It almost makes him grimace, knowing that the Avatar was the closest anyone would come to understanding him. (**_But not really, because no one will ever truly understand his pain._**)

They argue for well over an hour.

In the end, Tahno grudgingly drags on a suit and leaves with the dark-skinned woman to watch the people they loved promise themselves to one another.

He sits beside Korra who unconsciously grabs his hand in the middle of the ceremony and he understands that feeling she got (**_like being punched in the gut over and over again_**) because he, too, is powerless to fight for the person he loves.

When Mako leans in to give his new wife a kiss, Asami smiles and it is the first time Tahno had seen her smile without any reservation, and he thinks she might genuinely happy.

So when Tahno leaves, he decides that he feels more content than sad because Asami is happy.

* * *

**A.N.**: Tell me what you thought? :D I would totally love love love to get some feedback.


	3. Bliss

**A/N: **This is just something I did to pass the time. Horribly messy and barely proofread. Forgive me.

**DISCLAIMER:** IDNOLOK

* * *

**Bliss **

by slowrabbits

**Who is the big spoon/little spoon?**

One would have never guessed that Tahno was the spooning type, least of all Asami. She figured him to be the type to make a quick escape after the rigorous sex, or the butt-to-butt type when it came to sharing a bed since this was Tahno we are talking about. The brutal pro bender known to cheat on occasion; the self-obsessed metrosexual with shelves upon shelves of hair products; the guy who fantasized about waterbending cold water over old, married couples at the park.

But Asami had no gripes when she finds herself enveloped in his warm embrace, his face nuzzled into her neck and his rhythmic breathing fanning against her face.

"Sleep tight, princess," he drawled sleepily into her ear before succumbing to sleep.

Indeed, she had no complaints at all.

**What is their favorite non-sexual activity?**

Tahno doesn't really care what it said about him, but he enjoyed going on shopping trips with his girlfriend.

He loved how she would drag him into a dress shop, make him sit in the waiting area while she tried and showed off to him a variety of dresses. He would pretend to hate every minute of it, and she would pretend to be an over bearing girlfriend.

He would make some dry comment about how the green dress made her look pallid and she would jokingly tackle him onto the settee and make him take the comment back, which he wouldn't.

In the end, she would buy the dress because she had seen how Tahno's eyes lit up with simple adoration when she first revealed it to him.

They would argue all the way to a restaurant they also argued about.

After that, Asami would make him try on clothes and he would really hate it and he would have gone home but there is such unadulterated happiness in her eyes that he finds himself pulling on the navy blue shirt she has picked out for him to try on.

**Who uses all the hot water in the morning?**

Asami shamelessly squealed when she felt two long arms wrap around her midsection and a hard body press against her bare back.

"Not again!" she groaned, because she knew that the inevitable was coming. "I don't have time for shower sex, Tahno. I have a meeting in thirty minutes."

Tahno chuckled and proceeded to massage the lather onto her scalp. "You say that every morning," he informed her. "Never fails to make you sound like a haughty business executive."

"Look, pal, I can't stay to play horny boss and sexy secretary. Some of us have an actual job, you know."

"You say that every day," Tahno repeated, "but you always let me get away with it."

**What they order from take out?**

"Hey," Tahno called from the kitchen. Half of his body has disappeared into the refrigerator as he intensely inspected the cold unit for anything edible. So far, he's discovered some fish about to go bad, a takeout box of rubbery dango and cold, bland tea. In other words, nothing.

"Princess," he yelled out again, getting more and more irritated by his compaion's lack of response. His beautiful head bobbed out of the refrigerator to glare at the Sato heiress, who leaned over the breakfast table, a blueprint and some folders spread out before her. Emerald orbs hungrily went over every inch of the blueprint, taking in measurement and checking for flaws. Everything had to be precisely to her standard; the Sato brand could offer no less.

Tahno sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He'd never seen his girlfriend more obsessed about anything than her work as of late. Why, just last night she stumbled into bed at the latest hour possible, dropping face first onto the pillows with only a grunt as a goodnight. Then she'd been up at the crack of dawn, a frantic, spastic mess of what had to be artificial energy and anxiety to return to her precious paperwork.

Not the he blamed her, he supposed. The grand re-opening of Future Industries had to live up to its name.

"Hey, princess." he called out when he stopped in front of her. "What do you want for lunch?"

"Busy here," was all she replied, not even warranting Tahno a glance.

"Look, Asami, you need a break. You look like a mad woman." he said, taking in her haggard appearance.

"I'm fine. Could use some coffee, though." Asami said, pointing her chin to the empty mug by her elbow without removing her attention from her work.

Tahno shook his head. "I don't think so. You have enough caffiene in you to fuel an entire armada." getting increasingly worried (not that he let it show), the waterbender took the blueprint, rolled it up, ignored Asami's indignant 'hey!' and matched her glare. "Go take a shower or something. You're terrifying. You know this blueprint enough to reconstruct it with a blindfold on so you ought to relax a bit."

"Everything has to be perfect. My father-"

"Isn't here now." He took her slightly shaking hand, pressed his lips to the knuckles. He didn't envy Asami her fame and fortune. He understood the tremendous pressure that came hand in hand with the legacy her father had left behind. "You won't disappoint him. You're doing a damn fine job and you won't allow yourself to screw up, anyway. So take a load off," he added, before she could respond. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath. I'll order some of those dumplings you like, even if they are repulsive."

This prompted a smile out of Asami. "The ones with honey beef that Naika's sell?"

Tahno pretended to shudder in disgust. "If the queen insists on peasant grub, she will get peasant grub."

**What is the most trivial thing they fight over?**

The sun has barely shone when Tahno thought he heard the voice of Agni booming into his ear. "TAHNO!" Asami yelled as she stomps to his side of the bed. "Wake up!"

Disgruntled by the very rude wake up call, Tahno sat up, rubbing a hand over bleary eyes. Goddamn, he hated mornings. Even more so when there was a hysterical harpy trying to rip his eardrums apart. "What, woman?" he hissed, taking in the sight of a seething Asami, still dripping from her unfinished shower, a tiny towel haphazardly wrapped around her body.

Had he been fully awake, he would have seen Asami's eyes narrow into dangerous, slits. "Don't you 'what, woman' me, you pompous jackass." she sneered. "You used up all my conditioner!" cried the red-faced from anger woman as she help up a big, empty bottle of Lux Conditioner.

Finally noticing the murderous intent in Asami's eyes, Tahno swallowed. "Ah, that. Well-"

"How is this even empty? There was a little less than a quarter of this left when I left yesterday! What did you do, pour it down the drain?"

Feeling insulted and defensive, Tahno ran a reverent hand through his glorious hair. "My hair needs a lot of conditioner, okay?" he said, "You told me to help myself, so I did!"

The little pins of agitation poked at Asami's cool. "Unless you have a tail, I don't believe you used it all up on your head hair." Oh, how badly she wanted to beat him with the bottle. "Now what am I going to use? I have to be at work in twenty minutes and I can't have hair looking like this!" A small hand grabbed a handful of dripping ebony hair.

Something short of a lecherous smirk curled up a side of Tahno's lips. "You can stay and roll around in bed with me all day long, princess." he reached up, took the Sato princess by the shoulders and bought her down to sprawl all over him, "I'd even pay no heed to your ridiculous hair."

Asami rolled her eyes, tried to hang onto the small towel preserving her modesty. "How very generous of you."

Tahno only grinned. "I do try."

Shaking her head, Asami wiggled out of his grasp and headed back to the bathroom, praying for a miracle from the gods of beautiful hair. "This isn't over, Tahno. You better watch out for that hair of yours. I don't think you can quite pull off the bald look."

**Who does most of the cleaning?**

It will probably send his soul straight to hell for objectifying a woman like he was currently doing. Surely, his mother would have been horrified that her son was acting like a pig.

But Tahno couldn't help it.

Her butt was right there!

You couldn't not look at a butt that was just right there.

And it was such a nice butt, too.

Asami had an overall great body, but her bottom had got to be her best asset. It was all firm and perky and it had that little dimple whenever she was wiggling into her panties.

He really shouldn't stare.

It was rude.

And she especially didn't deserve to get ogled like some piece of meat when she was doing him such a huge favor cleaning the house.

After the disaster with the muriatic acid, Asami had volunteered to do all of the cleaning, so long as he did all the cooking (Asami was a terrible cook).

He had never appreciated a pair of pants like he did Asami's maroon ones right now. Just the way it stretched out over-

"Tahno, please stop staring holes into my ass." Asami said without looking up from the grout she was scraping off.

The waterbender cleared his throat and hid his face behind the newspaper (featuring an article of him, of course). "Right."

**Who leaves their stuff around?**

Sometimes, Tahno suspected that it his girlfriend intentionally embarrassed him to get back at him for using up her hair products when he stayed over.

"Mom, trust me when I say that I do not know how that got there." Tahno piped, a violent blush washing over his face.

Chyou laughed at the expression on her son's face. "Boy, you're not fourteen anymore. I don't care that you're diddling with someone," she answered, "I'm just annoyed you haven't introduced her to me yet."

Tahno rubbed the back of his neck, willing his embarrassment to die down. "She's coming over in an hour."

"Excellent!" his mother cried, a semi-manic light in her eyes. "I'll go make some dinner. You don't mind, do you?"

Tahno gestured to the kitchen. "Not at all. Go crazy, mom."

The moment Chyou is through the archway, Tahno's hand struck out to grab the lacy, racy plum bra and shoved it into his jacket pocket.

**Who whines/begs for sex more often?**

It is unspeakably late and Asami is just crawling out of her hot, jasmine-scented bath when she heard the door to her apartment creak open, then slam shut.

The noise is enough to get on the ravenette's last nerve because aside from it pounding her aching head like small hammers, Asami knew that she has a visitor.

And if she didn't know any better, that unwelcome visitor was her cocky lover, Tahno.

Sometimes, Asami really can't help but wonder what about the tactless son of a bitch fascinated her. He was nice to look at, yes, but Asami was never one to jump into a relationship because of shallow attractions. It surely wasn't Tahno's humanity, or modesty - the man had none.

Well, whatever it was, Asami was way too tired to ponder it.

She groped for the towel and wrapped it around her torso. As she made her way back into her bedroom, she heard Tahno puttying around in her kitchenette for what is likely a finger or two of her expensive scotch. Not bothering with underwear, Asami sluggishly pulled on baggy sweat pants and a loose sweater just so her guest wouldn't get any ideas.

Without bothering to greet Tahno, Asami slipped under her covers and waited for sleep to claim her.

Two minutes later, Tahno came into her room.

"Honey, I'm home." he called out, chuckling when he heard Asami growl.

She was hogging up all the space of the bed since she had a tendency to spread out whenever she was done in. Tahno rectified this by pushing her body with his. He brushed the still damp hair off her neck and started trailing hot kisses on the newly exposed skin.

A slim hand snaked out of the covers and made vicious contact smack dab in the middle of Tahno's face.

"Hey, oww!" Tahno yelped. "Watch it, Sato, that's prime merchandise you're battering."

"Drama queen." Asami snorted. "Leave me alone. I'm sleeping."

"Darling, really, no sex tonight, please." Tahno joked as his hand glided under Asami's sweater, over the smooth skin of her belly. "I had a long day at work and I have a headache. Oh, fine, since you insist. But only a quick one, darling, I'm tired."

Asami groaned, which Tahno mistook as the green light. When his wide hand cupped a breast, Asami tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "Stop, Tahno."

The squirming against his lap only served to excite the already keyed up man. "Come on, princess."

Asami gripped his wrist and dragged his hand out from her shirt. "I will break your arm if you don't let me get my freaking sleep." She hissed menacingly. "Get that?"

Tahno took his hand back. "No." he grunted. "If you were a man, you'd understand how I feel."

"You sound like a baby." Asami informed him as she turned on her side, facing away from her man.

"How about a quickie?" Tahno asked hopefully.

"No."

"I'll do all the work."

"Fine."

"Yes! Really?"

"No." Asami murmured. "For the love of Agni, go to sleep or take care of yourself in the bathroom."

**Who remembers to buy the milk?**

A sugary tone rang out of from the kitchen. "Tahno?"

A shiver crawled up his spine. "Yeah?" he doesn't like the sound of her voice.

Asami's head poked out of the kitchen pantry. A terrifyingly saccharine smile in on her face but there is murder in her eyes. "You forgot the milk again, didn't you?"

It was the third time he did. Tahno manfully cleared his throat and nodded. "Y-yes. Sorry."

"That's the third time now." Asami told him what he already knows.

"It is." He replied in a small voice as he recalled her ultimatum.

What had it been again?

Oh, right.

"_NO MORE SEX UNTIL YOU GET ME SOME GODDAMN MILK."_

Smiling weakly, Tahno unfolded his body off the sofa and made his way to the door. "I'll, uh, just go get some for you."

Her frighteningly wide smile is back and Tahno fought back another shudder.

**Who remembers anniversaries?**

Korra stopped using her waterbending to stir her soup which Asami had volunteered to make for her when Korra made the mistake of asking for food. The avatar chanced a look at Tahno, who sat beside her, not looking anymore enthusiastic about the catastrophe his girlfriend had concocted. "Hey, isn't it your anniversary with Tahno?"

Asami looked up from the scroll she had been reading and gave her friend a baffled look. Tahno seemed equally surprised. "How on earth would you know that?"

Korra shrugged carefully pushed the bowl away from her person. The fumes alone would be enough to kill her. "Bolin keeps a little calendar in his room and I saw it marked in."

A dismayed look crosses Asami's face before she can rein her shock in. "Are we going to have to do something special?"

Korra shrugged again. Then, a devilish grin appeared on her lips."Hey, maybe you can make pretty boy over here some fancy dinner."

Tahno blanched. "You're a monster."

They continued to debate until later in the afternoon.

In the end, Asami and Tahno had dinner at Kuang's and put in an early night.


	4. Falter

**Falter **

_by slowrabbits_

* * *

And so he found her.

She was standing serenely by her room's balcony; head tilted up so that her face was washed in moonlight and her pitch black locks flowed like a black, silk river down her back. For a moment, Tahno was stunned. It took much to stun the black-hearted killer and he was surprised that a bit of a girl managed to do so. He had certainly seen her face before, but only in a news paper cut out that came with her file from the agency. It was safe to say that the Sato heiress was far more radiant in the flesh. He had a moment to wonder if her skin felt as soft as it looked.

He had been careful to be silent so that he could kill her without her even being aware of it. Tahno usually preferred it that way- having no connection to those he killed. He was never one to revel in the sadistic pleasure of watching his prey get consumed by their death. He didn't allow himself the luxury of feeling. He killed with quick efficiency for he saw no point in wasting his time getting cheap thrills out of something inevitable.

People died. They got sick, they gave up on life, they got murdered or whatever else. It all came down to death.

Tahno would know. Death was his job.

_Carry out the mission, leave no trails, and flee as quickly as possible._

He unsheathed his katana, making sure that the sound of metal sliding against metal was loud enough to be heard by his target.

Surely enough, the new CEO of the Future Industries turned to face him, green eyes alight in shock. Her gauzy, white robe flew open as she spun, showing provocative hints of her racy negligee underneath. Her hair spilled deliciously over her shoulders, her breasts. Her left hand trembled, dropped the glass of whiskey she'd been nursing. Her lips were painted red like the blood he would spill.

Green eyes flickered fearfully to the expertly wielded katana before returning to her would be killer's eyes. "Will you kill me?" she asked, her voice small, but without a trace of fright. It seemed as if she had already accepted her imminent demise and it was very unusual for Tahno. His victims, even the prideful ones, always begged for him to spare them, or tried to cheat their way out of his clutches.

Tahno encountered a short, confusing moment of uncertainty about killing the girl. He wondered where the unwelcome sentiment came from. But Tahno was too disciplined a soldier to entertain the ridiculous notions. He answered by running his blade through her.

It was over.

The masked assassin jumped from rooftop to rooftop, making no noise as he swiftly made his way back to headquarters. His report to his leader was as streamlined as his kill. He didn't bring up the confusing moment of hesitation he had.

At whatever cost, he did the job, anyway.

* * *

**AN:** Just a short drabble. I've been getting these Mercenary!Tahno plot bunnies in my head and I thought it would be nice to share. Assassins are so fun to write and super sexy: that is, unless they have their eye on you D: Anyway~ I hope you're all well. I'm planning on putting up a longer chapter soon.

_Xx KT_


End file.
